MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR. 
349 
the Cunsa . 
and bestow on those persons charity in money and grain. At their CHAPTER 
marriages, at the new moons, at births, and at the Todanu , as the 
annual commemoration of the death of their parents is called in < Jul y * 9 , 20. 
the Telinga language, the Panchanga, or village astrologer, reads 
prayers ( Mantrams) , which are by them reckoned of great efficacy, 
as they are in a language which they do not understand. 
The Cunsa Woculigaru are a tribe of Sudra of Karnata descent, Customs of 
who are properly cultivators, and who formed a part of the Can * 
dashara. , or native militia. Their hereditary chiefs are called Gaudas , 
whether they are head-men of villages or not. The Gauda by ex- 
communication, or by the mulct of an entertainment, settles dis- 
putes, and punishes transgressions against the rules of cast. In 
cases of adultery, the head-man, assisted by his council, inquires 
into the matter. If the man has been of the same cast, the adul- 
teress is only reprimanded, the husband of course retaining the 
power of giving her corporal punishment, although he rarely pro- 
ceeds to such extremities ; but if the man has been of a strange 
cast, the adulteress is excommunicated. They can all intermarry, 
and the men are allowed to take several wives. The women are 
very industrious spinners, and labourers in the field, anc| continue 
to be marriageable after the age of puberty. Widows ought to be 
buried alive with their husband’s bodies ; and some of the more 
strict people regret that the custom has become entirely obsolete. 
They are allowed to eat animal food, but not to drink spirituous 
liquors. Some of them can read, and write accompts. They all 
worship the Saktis, by sacrificing animals, which they afterwards 
eat. They believe, that after death the spirits of good men become 
a kind of gods, and, by sending dreams, warn men of what is to 
happen. Bad men, after death, become devils, but have no power 
over the living. To the sainted spirits they offer sacrifices. Some 
of them take the vow of Daseri , and some pray to Dharma Raja:-- 
The Panchanga , or village astrologer, reads Mantrams to them at 
marriages and births, and in some places attends at the annual 
